Forbidden Lovers
by Hagetaka
Summary: The twin children of Setsuna and Sara got along better than anybody would have expected. Almost too well, as it made Setsuna uncomfortable: after everything that had happened, was it really alright for two siblings to love each other?
1. Children of the Angels

**Author's Note: It probably goes without saying, but I do not own Angel Sanctuary or any of its characters. Any original characters, however, are characters of my own design.**

Chapter 1: Children of the Angels

"Kazuki, go make sure that your sister is awake."

Kazuki Mudou walked down the hallway to the room that he shared with his twin sister. Just like it had been every morning for the past several years, it seemed like Miu was trying to wait until the last possible minute before waking up and getting ready for school, a habit that ended up making the twins late as often as not. He had hoped that it being their first day at high school might be sufficient motivation for his sister to get up a little earlier, but he supposed that it did no good to hope for the impossible. He stopped just outside the door that led into the room.

"Miu," he called, "Are you almost ready?" There was no answer from within. "Come on sis, you're going to make us late for the first day of school."

He waited a few seconds for a response, but had no more luck than the first time. Impatiently, he yanked open the door into the bedroom, expecting to find his sister still in bed, trying to catch a few more minutes of sleep. Instead, he found himself completely mistaken.

Kazuki's twin was standing with her back to the door. Her nightgown lay on the floor where it had been carelessly tossed, probably to remain there until after school, when Miu would, as if a completely different person, suddenly become much more concerned about the cleanliness of the room. Her brand-new high school uniform was much more carefully laid out on the bed. Miu herself was wearing nothing except her underwear, apparently having been caught somewhere between undressing and dressing.

"Sorry!" Kazuki exclaimed, quickly excusing himself from the room, closing the door behind him. He felt his heart beating fast: his sister could be quite frightening when angered.

"Is that you, brother?" she asked drowsily from the other side of the door. "Don't worry; I'll be ready to go soon."

Relieved that he had been allowed to live for a short while longer, Kazuki returned to the kitchen, where his father was still reading the morning paper.

"Is she awake?" Setsuna Mudou asked his son.

Kazuki nodded. "She says that she'll be out shortly," he reported.

"It would be nice if you two were actually on time for school this year," Setsuna remarked. "You're both in high school now, so you should be perfectly capable of waking up on time."

"I'm not the one who keeps making us late," Kazuki remarked quietly.

"You sleep in the same room, so it shouldn't be that hard for you to make sure that Miu is up at the same time you are."

Kazuki cursed to himself for letting his father hear the remark, but made sure not to curse audibly. While his parents were usually fairly lenient, his father could be strict when necessary, and forcing blame off on others was one of those things that Setsuna stubbornly tried to discourage his children from doing.

"Relax, dad," Miu said as she entered the room. "I'm ready to go now, and we still have plenty of time to get to school." She gave her father a light kiss on the cheek before heading out the front door. "Coming, Kazuki?" she asked. "We wouldn't want to be late, would we?"

"Goodbye, dad," Kazuki called right before following his sister out the door. Setsuna remained seated, as though he hadn't heard his children.

"It's hard to believe that they're already in high school, isn't it?" Setsuna turned to see his wife coming from their bedroom.

"I didn't realize you were still here, Sara," he remarked. "I thought you'd already left."

"I couldn't leave without seeing my two children leaving for their first day of high school."

"Sara, you teach at a high school," Setsuna pointed out. "The same high school that our children now attend, if I'm not mistaken. Not only will you see them later today _multiple times_, you yourself are on the verge of being late."

"You worry too much," Sara told him. "Keiko offered to give me a ride this year. She won't be here for another few minutes."

"As long as you aren't late, dear." Setsuna sat in quiet contemplation, carefully phrasing his next statement before saying it. "Sara, don't you think it's about time that Kazuki and Miu had their own rooms?"

"What's wrong with how things are now?" she asked. "You said yourself that it could probably help Miu to get up on time."

"They're entering high school," Setsuna reasoned. "They'll probably want a little bit of privacy from each other. They'll eventually begin to get tired of living together."

"Not those two. They've gotten along perfectly for the last 15 years without a complaint."

"I suppose so," Setsuna conceeded. "Still, they might-"

"If they start to have problems, they'll work it out themselves," Sara interrupted. "If not, we'll still have time to take care of things when they come up. You're worrying about problems that may never happen, Setsuna."

"I guess you're right," he admitted. "I'm their father, it's my job to worry about things."

"You're a wonderful father, Setsuna," Sara assured him, "just try to remember that Kazuki and Miu don't really fall into the category of 'average siblings'"

_You don't have to remind me,_ Setsuna thought. _I can see for myself just how 'different' Kazuki is._

"Miu, wait up!" It never failed to amaze Kazuki how his twin could go straight from being practically unconscious to the state she was currently in, which had her practically running down the sidewalk to their school. It was the same thing every morning.

"You'd better hurry up, brother," she called. "I thought you didn't want to be late for school today."

"Miu, I'm sorry about earlier," he apologized.

"Sorry about what?"

"About this morning. You know, when I, um…" he hesitated for a second, but finally decided that it would be best to just get it over with. "When I kind of walked in on you while you were changing. I'm sorry, I thought you were asleep."

"Did you do that?" Miu wondered aloud. "Sorry, I guess I wasn't really paying attention at the time." She stopped and waited for her brother to catch up.

"Ow!" Kazuki exclaimed. His sister had punched him hard in the arm.

"You're forgiven," she remarked cheerfully. "Next time it happens, you get two punches."

"Thanks a lot," he replied sarcastically. Still, he reasoned that only a single punch was not much to complain about, it probably would have been much worse for him if he hadn't brought it up, and she had remembered later.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "You seemed kind of spaced out this morning. I mean, you're always spaced out before you leave the house, but I got the impression that you weren't really hearing anything I said this morning."

"No, I'm fine," she answered. "Now come on, you're making us late!"

Miu turned and began walking down the path. Her pale skin seemed to shine in the morning sunlight as she spun around, long brown hair flowing around her body in the slight spring breeze. _The name our parents gave her fits perfectly,_ Kazuki thought, for in that moment, it seemed to him that there was nothing on earth or in the heavens that could be more beautiful than her.


	2. Forbidden Attraction

Chapter 2: Forbidden Attraction

Surprisingly, the Mudou twins managed to find their class with a few minutes to spare. While Miu went to renew acquaintances with old classmates, Kazuki went immediately to his desk.

"…and the inseparable twins arrive at last," the boy behind him remarked.

"I have to make sure my little sister gets to school on time, Naoto," Kazuki replied.

"Stop waiting for her. That'll force her to get ready faster."

"I'd prefer that any changes in my sister's sleeping habits do _not_ come at the expense of my personal well-being. Besides, what would I achieve by getting here a few minutes earlier?"

"Mix with the rest of the class," Naoto suggested. "Be social for once. Most high school students _do_ have some form of a social life, you know."

"I socialize," Kazuki protested.

"You have two people with whom you talk on a regular basis," Naoto told him. "Me and your sister."

"Is something wrong with that?" Kazuki asked. "It's not like I ignore everybody else, I just don't go out of my way to bother them."

"No, nothing really wrong with it, I guess."

* * *

"Mudou!" Setsuna turned to find himself face to face with his supervisor. "Stop slacking off and get back to work!"

"Sorry," Setsuna mumbled.

"You okay?" his coworker asked once the supervisor was gone. "You seem kind of dazed."

"I'm alright. I've just got a few things on my mind."

"Family troubles?"

"Something of the sort, yes." Setsuna usually avoided getting too specific when it came to his family, and with good reason.

"Might do you some good to get out for awhile," the coworker remarked. "They have you scheduled to go to Tokyo in a few days, right?" Take a little break, stay in the city for a few extra days. It's not like you aren't here every other day of the year."

"Maybe," Setsuna answered. "I don't really like it in Tokyo that much."

"Eh, whatever. Just try to take care of yourself, Mudou."

* * *

_Of all the classes I could have been assigned to, it would have to be this one,_ Kazuki thought. His homeroom teacher was none other than Keiko Sasaki, his mother's close friend. They had barely gotten into the new year, and he could already tell that every little thing that happened in the classroom would somehow find its way to Sara Mudou.

_Looks like I'll just have to make sure that there's nothing for her to report. Stay focused, Kazuki, you can do this._ Kazuki was very capable of doing the work required for the classes he took, but he had a tendency to get bored with the work and let his mind wander during class as soon as he had finished all of the work that was assigned at that moment. Still, he managed just fine until history, his least favorite class. The history teacher at the school had a reputation for being incredibly boring, and nothing Kazuki saw within the first few minutes of the class indicated otherwise. Kazuki found it increasingly difficult to concentrate on schoolwork.

Just in front of him, Miu was having no trouble staying on task. Although she wasn't _quite_ as fast of a thinker as her twin, Miu was much more focused during class and had no trouble getting excellent grades. For a moment, Kazuki simply stared at her as she began reading through the section of the textbook that the teacher had just told them to read. From the seat directly behind her, all he could see of her was the back of her head. Her hair cascaded down her back and shoulders.

Even though her back was turned to him, Kazuki was easily able to visualize the rest of her. Her soft facial features and golden eyes, her slender limbs that somehow contained hidden strength, her light-colored skin, the graceful curves of her body…

Kazuki snapped out of his trance. He glanced around to make sure that nobody was paying attention to him. Luckily, everybody else was still concentrating on their textbooks. Kazuki turned to the first page of the assigned section and directed his eyes toward it, but his mind was still racing along elsewhere. What business did he have, thinking about his sister in the middle of class? Even worse was the extent to which his mental images had gone.

_Stupid Miu,_ he thought. _You didn't warn me not to come in this morning, and now I have that visualization stuck in my head. It's entirely your fault._ He put the matter out of his mind and began reading the text. At least, he tried to, but he found that he couldn't read more than a few sentences before his sister dominated his thoughts once more. Even the small things, such as the sound of her voice or feel of her smooth skin, were impossibly distracting to him.

_Why can't I concentrate on anything else?_ He couldn't remember a time when his thoughts had been so focused on her. Sure, he had sometimes thought of her in the middle of class during previous years, but never with such powerful feeling.

_I think I'm in love,_ he thought. _No, that can't be right. She's my sister! I should be teasing her about her boyfriend, or about her lack of one… anything except trying to _become_ one._ Kazuki's heart was racing to the point where it felt it would burst out of his chest. He had given up on trying to concentrate on his schoolwork, now he was trying with all of his willpower to think about _anything_ that wasn't his sister.

_I can't do it. No matter what I try, my heart drags my thoughts back to her. What am I going to do?_

"Kazuki, are you okay?"

Kazuki blinked. It was the end of the day, and just about every other student in the class had already left to go home. He had somehow managed to do enough work in his classes that he didn't get in trouble, but his recollection of the entire day was very faint.

"Is something wrong?" Miu asked.

"Nothing," Kazuki managed to say. "Sorry for worrying you." He gathered his things as quickly as possible, and the two of them left to go home.

"You aren't angry at me because of earlier, are you?" she asked. "I didn't mean to hit you so hard, I only meant it to be a light punch."

"It's alright," he assured her. "It wasn't anything that I didn't deserve."

"Don't say that!" she exclaimed, grabbing his arm. "I should have told you not to come in, or gone into the bathroom, or…" She was on the verge of tears.

It was at that point that Kazuki realized that not only was his arm being held captive by Miu, it was pinned against her body in such a way that it was just next to her heart, in contact with the softest part of he chest. Kazuki's pulse skyrocketed.

"…and now you probably hate me for everything," Miu sobbed.

Kazuki managed to loosen his sister's grip on his arm enough that he could put it around her trembling back. He put his other arm around her as well, embracing her tightly as she cried against his chest.

"I don't hate you, Miu," he whispered to her.

"Y-you don't?"

"I couldn't ever hate you, Miu."

"That's good," she said. She was noticeably calmer, although her shoulders still shook slightly. "I was so afraid that I'd made you angry, and…"

"You're forgiven. May I apologize for upsetting you?"

"Accepted," she replied. They held the embrace for a few seconds longer, then separated and resumed the walk home. Neither of them said much to the other for the remainder of the night, but the subject of Kazuki's thoughts never wavered.

_There's no doubt about it,_ he though to himself as he lay in his bed that night. Across the room, Miu was already asleep, her chest rising and falling in time with her serene breathing. Up until the moment when he too fell asleep, his gaze remained fixed on her silhouette. _I love her._


	3. The Advice of Those on the Sidelines

Chapter 3: The Advice of Those on the Sidelines

On the surface, it seemed as though nothing had changed in Kazuki's life. He still woke up well before his sister, his parents still ran through the same morning routine that they had every day for as long as Kazuki could remember. His father still asked that Kazuki wake up Miu, although Kazuki was especially careful to make sure that his sister was actually asleep before entering the room. It was a day just like any other.

But to Kazuki, it seemed entirely new. Every moment that he spent in his sister's presence filled him with a sense of joy, every thing that she did seemed as graceful and elegant as humanly possible. When she spoke to him, even if it was only to grumble about having to wake up so early, it felt as though Kazuki had been brought to Heaven itself. Still, not everything was well with Kazuki. The stubborn refusal of his mind to think of anything other than Miu was gone, as though Kazuki's acknowledgement of his feelings had put it at bay, but it had come at a price. Kazuki knew that the way he felt was wrong, and that nobody would accept how he felt for Miu- not his friends, not his parents, and most definitely not his sister. So from the moment he woke up in the morning, Kazuki's mind was filled with fear that someone would realize before he was ready, anxiety that he would never find anybody who understood.

Miu was surprisingly cheerful that morning, and she talked to Kazuki the entire way to school- or rather, she talked _at_ Kazuki, who was too busy trying to figure out how to get out of the mess he was in.

_I can't do this alone,_ he decided as they arrived in their homeroom. _I need to talk to somebody about this before I go insane, but who? It can't be Miu, and it has to be someone I can trust…_

"Good morning, Kazuki."

"Good morning, Naoto." An idea struck Kazuki. "Hey, Naoto?"

"Wow, you actually have something to talk about this morning. What is it?"

"I need advice on something."

"You must be desperate, then. What's bothering you?"

"There's a girl who I kind of like," Kazuki said ambiguously.

"Congratulations," Naoto replied. "Does she like you back, or does she not even know you exist?"

"Naoto, it's me. Do you really think that any girl would think of me in that manner?"

"You'd be surprised." He raised his hand to scratch just behind his ear. "You're out of luck, man. I've got no advice for something like this."

"It was worth a try, I guess."

"What about Miu? She might be able to give you some advice."

"No! I mean, I can never tell when she's messing with me or not. I'd rather not risk it."

"Your parents?" Naoto suggested. "They've probably been through something like this before."

"I doubt it."

"You might want to try it anyway," Naoto advised. "They're your parents, so they deserve to know what's going on in your life, even if they can't help you completely."

Ms. Sasaki entered the room at that moment, so the two of them were forced to abandon their conversation. Kazuki was left thinking about the last thing his friend had said to him. He should have expected that he wouldn't get any good advice, not when he was limited to only giving a vague overview of the situation that did nothing to address the main issue at hand. He debated telling Naoto about everything, but decided for the moment that it would be a better idea to simply keep quiet. He could try to work things out on his own and still ask for help later if necessary, but it would all be over if it turned out that Naoto was unwilling to help. At any rate, there were no opportunities for the rest of the day where the two of them would be able to talk without being overheard, so there was no point in worrying about it.

The day went by surprisingly quickly, and it wasn't long before Kazuki and Miu were once more walking down the familiar path to their home.

"Are you okay, Kazuki?" Miu asked. "You're being really quiet, even for you."

"I'm fine," he lied. "I'm just trying to think of a way to get out of that writing assignment. Be nice to me and I might let you in on my plans." Miu laughed at that, raising Kazuki's spirits a little.

"That's just like you, Kazuki," she said. "Well, I'm glad that nothing's troubling you. I'd hate it if something was making my big brother worry."

"Yeah…"

"Are you sure you're going to be alright?" There was genuine, deep worry in her eyes. She cared about him.

_Will she care about me that much when she learns what it is that I've been keeping from her?_ he thought. He forced himself to smile at her.

"I'll be alright," he asserted. Miu didn't press the issue after that, so their conversation stayed limited to trivial things. Once they got home, Kazuki did his best to stay away from his sister, allowing him to ponder his problems without making her worry any more than she already was. He was pacing back and forth through the house when he heard the front door open.

"I'm home," he heard his father call. Kazuki went to the front door.

"Dad?" he asked hesitantly, "Can we talk about something?"

"Sure," Setsuna responded. "What is it?"

Kazuki glanced behind him, making sure that Miu hadn't come out of her room yet.

"Dad, I think I'm in love with Miu."

"Is that it?" Setsuna didn't seem angry as Kazuki would have expected after such a statement, he didn't try to ask for clarification. Instead, he spoke without any emotion, so that when he spoke Kazuki had no idea what he meant. "Come with me."

Without waiting, he grabbed Kazuki's wrist and led him into the kitchen.

"Sit," he commanded, releasing Kazuki's arm. Setsuna took the seat opposite the one Kazuki sat in.

"You think that you love your sister?"

"I-I think so," Kazuki said nervously. It felt as though he was being interrogated.

"Does she know? Have you told anybody else?"

"No," Kazuki answered. "I wasn't sure what I should do, so I haven't said anything about it to anybody except you. I was hoping that you might be able to give me some advice."

"You want advice?" Setsuna asked rhetorically. "Forget about her."

"What?"

"Forget her," Setsuna repeated. "Take those feelings and bury them. Miu will never be anything but your sister, and trying to make her anything else will only end in suffering for you both. Anybody who finds out will want nothing to do with you, and Miu herself may reject you for it. I won't allow my children to have such a life."

It was the advice that Kazuki had feared the most, but the ones that he knew would come. The words that common sense told him were the only possible action. _I was a fool to think that there would be a way for us to be together,_ he thought.

"Thank you for your advice," he said. "Please, don't tell anybody about this. Especially not my sister." The word _sister_ brought a sour taste to his mouth, a reminder of what could not be.

"I will forget that I ever heard it," Setsuna promised. "You would do well to do the same."

Kazuki walked slowly back to his room. It hurt so much that he would never be able to have his love, and each footstep felt as though his dreams had turned to lead and were being dragged behind him. _If I let go of my dreams, will this pain go away?_

"Is something wrong?" Miu asked as he entered the room. He wondered why she had to be so nice, why she couldn't just ignore him for once. Her words only reminded him of his suffering. He didn't trust himself to be able to give a reply, so instead just went straight to his futon and lay down on it. After a while, he heard Miu get up and leave without saying a word.

* * *

"Kazuki has feelings for Miu," Setsuna told his wife.

"Are you just now figuring that out?"

"I've known for a long time, but I was waiting for him to figure it out. He asked me what he should do about it."

"I hope you gave him good advice."

"I told him he should forget about it," Setsuna said.

"It won't work," Sara predicted. "He won't be able to handle the pain. Nobody would, if they were forced to be so close to the one they love."

"Maybe he'll surprise you. Maybe he'll be able to outlast it."

"You sound as though you want him to forget about her."

"I do," Setsuna admitted. "No matter what pain he'll go through, this way is better for him."

"Would it be that bad if they were to be together?" Sara asked. "Nobody outside the family would have to know, so we could at least let them try it and see for themselves what it would be like."

"That's only if Miu accepts it."

"Miu will understand. If necessary, we can tell her everything, and she might be more open to the idea."

"If we tell them now, it will be like we're giving them an expectation to live up to. It's too late."

"So we're back to watching Kazuki suffer alone?"

"If he can manage, this will be the best solution. If not…we'll just have to worry about that later." Setsuna hesitated before speaking again. "Sara, I have a business trip to Tokyo tomorrow."

"I remember you telling me about it."

"I think that this time, I might stay there for a few days," he announced. "I can afford to take a few days off of work, and I think that I need to clear my head with everything that's been going on."

"Take as long as you need," Sara told him. "Just promise me that you'll come back when you're ready."


	4. Sinful Love

Chapter 4: Sinful Love

"Now, if you will please open your textbooks and begin reading…"

History class, again. Kazuki tried his best to keep his sister out of his thoughts, a task made much harder by the fact that her seat was directly in front of his. His mind wavered between lingering hopes of what could have been and the harsh reality of how things really were.

Despite how weary he felt, Kazuki had lain awake for most of the night, never managing to catch more than a half hour's worth of rest for himself. As a result, he had been late in getting up, almost later than Miu. Setsuna had already left for his business trip, something for which Kazuki was glad. He didn't think he could face his father, the one person who knew his terrible secret. The one person who would see him as the sinful person he truly was.

It seemed as though Setsuna had kept his word about keeping Kazuki's attraction a secret, although part of Kazuki wished that he hadn't. It would be so much easier for Kazuki to forget his feeling if his sister were to avoid him. For a brief moment Kazuki considered telling her himself, but the prospect of having to do such a thing terrified him much more than the thought of keeping things secret. In the end, he decided to keep things the way they were for the time being. Unfortunately, it felt as though his very life was being drained with every passing second.

* * *

"Sara, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Certainly." Sara put down the stack of assignments that she had been grading. "What is it, Keiko?"

"It's about your son," the other woman answered.

"Kazuki? What's wrong with him?"

"He just seems…different," Keiko explained. "I wouldn't normally bring something like this up, but he's been quieter than usual this year, he barely pays attention, and on the rare occasion that he does do some of his work, it's way below the level that Kazuki's capable of working at."

"I see."

"I don't mean to pry, but is something happening at home with him?"

"Aren't teachers supposed to stay out of their students' personal lives?" Sara asked.

"I'm not doing this as his teacher right now," Keiko countered. "I'm asking this as someone who is worried about her friend's children. Besides, you'd ignore that regulation if you felt it was necessary, just the same as me."

"I'll talk to Kazuki about it," Sara promised.

"Did something happen between him and Miu? They seem like they've been avoiding each other recently."

"It's possible," Sara admitted. "Tell Kazuki to come see me after school, okay?"

Shortly after classes ended, Kazuki arrived in the teachers office. 

"You wanted to see me, mom?" he asked. Despite how he might have been feeling, Sara noticed that he was doing his best not to show any signs of change to his family.

"Let's go for a walk," she suggested. "It's been a while since I've had a chance to talk to you." The two of them went out to the back of the school, away from the crowds of students and teachers trying to leave for home.

"Ms. Sasaki tells me that you've been struggling with your schoolwork," she remarked. He responded with silence. "Is anything wrong?"

"Nothing," he said quietly.

"Did something happen between you and Miu?"

"I said nothing was wrong!" Kazuki yelled.

"Well then, sorry for bothering you," she apologized, acting as though it had been nothing more than a polite denial. "I'm glad that you managed to work everything out."

Kazuki stopped dead in his tracks. "You know," he accused. "Dad told you."

"Know about what?"

"About how I like Miu," he blurted out. Realizing what he had just done, he clapped his hands over his mouth.

"Don't worry about it," Sara assured him. "Just so you know, your father and I both knew about it long before you told him last night."

"Why?"

"We're your parents, Kazuki. We're capable of telling what you're going through, even if it takes you so long to come to us for help."

"Why didn't you say something to me before I fell in love with her?" he asked angrily. "It's too late to go back for me, now! I'm going to be stuck with these stupid feelings for her for the rest of my life."

"It isn't our place to tell you who you can or can't fall in love with," Sara told her son.

"That's not what dad thinks," Kazuki said sullenly. "He told me to forget about her, because it will only hurt both of us if I do anything else."

"What your father advises you to do is just that-" Sara informed him, "advice. If you and your sister really wish to be together, we will accept your choice."

"It's pointless anyway," Kazuki remarked. "She's my sister. It's impossible for the two of us to be together, regardless of whether or not you and dad like the idea. We'd never be able to live like that."

"Really," Sara asked. "Did you know that Setsuna is _my_ older brother?"

"Dad?"

"It's hard, certainly, but it is possible for the two of you to have a happy life together, if you were to choose that path."

"That Hypocrite!" Kazuki exclaimed. "What's he playing at, telling me to forget about my feelings? He's in no position to talk!"

"Sometimes," Sara said once Kazuki had calmed down somewhat, "we must say things that we don't fully agree with. I won't lie to you; it _will_ be hard to live a life with someone so closely related to you. You might manage fine without any trouble, but it will be horrible for you if anybody were to find out. When your father talked to you last night, he was thinking about your best interests."

"What about you?" Kazuki asked. "Why are you telling me all of this, then?"

"Your father and I will be with you no matter what," Sara assured him. "If you and your sister choose to be together, we will do everything we can to help support you. If you choose not to, we'll understand."

"What do you think I should do, though?"

"Talk to Miu. Tell her how you feel."

"She'll hate me. Nobody would accept feelings like that."

"Remember who you're talking to, dear," she reminded him. "Miu may very well reject you, but it will help you to live with it, and she'll eventually come to forgive you. Who knows, maybe she has feelings just like yours, but is too afraid to admit it. At any rate, she needs to know the truth if she's to make her own decision. As someone who loves her, you ought to at least give her that chance."

Miu was outside the teacher's office when they returned.

"There you are!" she shouted. "I was wondering where you went off to."

"You didn't have to wait for me, you know."

"I didn't want you to get lonely on your way home." She glanced at her mother.

"Go ahead, kids, I've still got some work to finish," she told them. "Think about what I said, Kazuki."

The two siblings headed off along the familiar path from school to their house. Neither of the two said anything, making the trip more than slightly uncomfortable for Kazuki. _Is this what it will be like all the time, if you were to know?_ he thought. _What should I do?

* * *

_

"It's been a while since I've seen you here, Setsuna."

"Tokyo isn't exactly my favorite place."

"Tokyo or not, I haven't seen you in years. Have you been trying to avoid me, or am I just that hard to find?"

"Hardly," Setsuna remarked. "I always thought going the police and asking to see Sakuya Kira would get me the visitation hours for the local prison. You really have changed since I've last seen you."

"Not so much as you'd think," Setsuna's old friend remarked. "I've got a nice little side business managing the street gangs of this city with one hand while I serve the police with the other."

"The devil himself couldn't get as much control over Tokyo as you, Kira."

"I take it you didn't just come here to catch up on what we've been doing," Kira remarked. "What prompted the sudden visit?"

"Trouble at home," Setsuna answered.

"Sara?"

"Kazuki," Setsuna corrected. "Our son."

"Most children would be a little hard to manage if they learned that their parents were closely related, I guess. Has he been getting rebellious?"  
"On the contrary, he takes after us a bit too well. He's in love with Miu."

"Miu being, of course…"

"Our daughter, his twin sister."

"What's the problem?" Kira asked. "You of all people shouldn't have problems with it."

"I want what's best for them. When Sara and I made our decision, we knew what we were getting into. If Kazuki learns about us, he might start to disregard some of the dangers."

"He doesn't know?"

"No. There's no guarantee that Miu feels the same way about him, either."

"One big mess," Kira remarked. He pulled out a box from his jacket pocket. "Cigarette?" he offered.

"No thanks," Setsuna declined.

"Suit yourself." He took one for himself before replacing the box within his pocket. "Do you remember what I told you regarding Sara?"

"Nobody can say for sure what the right or wrong decision is. The others are only observers, and have no idea what it's like to be in any given situation."

"That applies the other way as well," Kira advised. "Before, you lacked the outsider's perspective. Now, you know what it feels like to be both inside _and_ outside."

"Telling me that doesn't help. I still have no idea what to do about Kazuki."

"I know someone who can help you." He pulled out a small notepad and wrote something down on it. "You might want to consider it."

Setsuna glanced at the paper. "I don't need advice from that person," he asserted.

"Keep the paper anyway. You might change your mind. Beyond that, there's nothing else I can do for you."

* * *

That night, Kazuki finally reached his decision. Lying in his bed, he had been thinking about the things he had been told by his mother and father. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed to become clear. There was only one course of action.

"Miu?" he called. He wasn't sure if his sister was asleep yet, and wasn't sure if he wanted her to be or not.

"What is it?" she replied sleepily. He heard shuffling over on her side of the room as she sat up in her futon.

"I love you."

"I love you too, brother." She began to lie back down, but Kazuki crossed the room and grabbed her shoulder.

"What is it, Kazuki?" she asked, confused. Kazuki responded by pulling her close to him. Still holding onto her shoulder, he brought his lips to hers and kissed her. For a moment, she did nothing, too shocked to react. It was only after a few seconds that the realization of what was happening hit her. She began struggling, shoving Kazuki away from her.

"What are you doing?" she yelled. "What was that?"

"I love you," Kazuki repeated.

"Please, just go," she said. "Leave me alone, please." Kazuki thought he detected a faint trace of disgust in his sister's voice.

"I'm sorry, Miu," he apologized. He returned to his futon and lay down. _I did what you suggested, Mom,_ he thought. _I told her how I feel. Why is it that I only feel worse than before?"_


	5. Consequences of Love

Chapter 5: Consequences of Love

Kazuki wondered how it was that he had ever managed to sleep that night. Every moment that he lay awake, he saw only the look of disgust on his sister's face after his confession. The words of her rejection of him echoed endlessly in his mind. To forget the event would require him to erase every memory of Miu, who had been the sole focus of his life until the point when she had forcefully torn herself away from him. The pain of rejection would remain embedded into him as deep as his very soul.

Miraculously, he managed to find some rest for himself before the sun rose, for he distinctly remembered awakening that morning. The first sight that greeted his eyes was an empty bedroom. As he got ready to go to school, there was no trace of his sister. Finally ready, Kazuki went into the kitchen to find a note lying on the table.

_Went to school early today with Miu. Don't be late. Love, Mother_

If he had been in a better mood, Kazuki might have remarked to himself that something major must have happened for Miu to get up so early. Unfortunately, the irregularity only served to remind him that something major _had_ happened, and that he was the direct cause of it. He was not looking forward to school that day, and began to give some serious consideration into skipping it for that day. In the end, however, he left just as usual, walking down the path that he had walked every day that week. It seemed to be the longest that the trip had ever taken.

He arrived at school just as normal. As he slipped into the classroom, he saw Miu, talking with some of her friends as though nothing had ever changed. She did not even once glance in his direction.

"You doing okay?" Naoto asked. "You're late."

"Class hasn't started yet," Kazuki mumbled.

"You got here after Miu. That makes you late," Naoto informed him. "What, did you two fight or something?"

"Something like that, yeah." Kazuki didn't feel like making up false details, so he just left it at that.

"So even the inseparable Mudou twins have their disagreements." More than anything else, Kazuki wanted to punch his friend in the face. "Don't worry, you'll probably work it out fine," Naoto added hastily.

_Of course it will be fine_, Kazuki thought. _It's nothing major that we're dealing with, I only have a crush on my sister. It's going to be _completely_ fine after a few days._ Once again, he wished he could tell _somebody_ just so that he could get some advice that actually applied to his situation. Not that the advice he had receive from his mother had actually done anything to help.

Throughout the day, Kazuki put everything he had into his schoolwork. It allowed him to take his mind off of the other things, at least for a little while. It also made the day seem to go by faster, and school was over before he knew it. He was gathering up his things when Miu turned around in her seat and spoke to him.

"I'm leaving," she said. "Goodbye."

Without waiting for a response, she got up and left. Kazuki took his time, knowing that it would only be more painful for him and his sister to be together at the time. Instead, he began wandering about the school.

"Kazuki?"

Without any specific destination in mind, Kazuki's aimless walking had led him to the teacher's office, where his mother was working at her desk.

"Are you okay?" she asked. Kazuki stayed silent, since he didn't know any words that could adequately describe how he felt at that moment. "I'm going to guess that things didn't go so well with Miu, did they?"

"What did you expect?" Kazuki yelled. "She hates me now! This wouldn't have happened if I hadn't followed your advice…"

"Would that have been any better?" Sara asked. "Do you really think she would be happier not knowing?"

"What good has knowing done anybody?" Kazuki asked angrily.

"It gives her the chance to come to terms with it," Sara explained. "She may be uncomfortable around you now, but eventually she may come to accept that nobody has complete control over who they love. She may even have feelings for you."

"Aren't you being overly optimistic, mother? If Miu loved me, why wouldn't she just say so?"

"Did you realize and come to terms with your feelings for her immediately?" For once, Kazuki couldn't think of a counter-argument. "Come," she invited, "Let's go home."

On the walk home, Kazuki stayed silent, but his mind was working constantly. He decided that even if he couldn't change the way Miu felt about him, it probably wouldn't make things too much worse if he were to talk to her about things.

Kazuki arrived shortly before his mother, intent on talking to his sister. He went immediately to their room, only to find that Miu wasn't there. A quick, frantic search of the house confirmed his worst fears. He ran to the front door, where his mother was just entering. Miu's last words to him came to mind immediately.

"Mom, Miu's not here."

"What?"

"She's gone," Kazuki repeated, trying to keep himself under control. "I think she ran away."

* * *

Setsuna felt none of the excitement he normally felt when returning home after a business trip. He had hoped that spending some time away from his family would allow him to straighten things out, but he felt no surer about what to do than he had a few days earlier. He was beginning to wonder if there would ever be a problem in his life that had a nice, clear solution.

Something he saw out of the corner of his eye made Setsuna turn around for a better look. Surely enough, his first impression had been correct. He made his way through the crowd of people in the station to where he had seen the teenaged girl looking at the list of departures. She didn't notice him until he spoke to her.

"What are you doing here?" She spun around to face him, confirming her identity.

"Dad!" she exclaimed, surprised. "I-"

"Were you waiting for me?" he interrupted, "Or was there something else?" Miu looked down at her feet, speechless. As she moved her head, Setsuna saw that she had tears on her cheeks.

"Come with me," he said calmly, putting his hand on her shoulder. He led her to a bench in one corner of the station, away from all of the other people waiting to board. After waiting a few minutes to allow Miu to regain her composure, he began talking again.

"Where were you going?" he asked.

"I don't know," she replied. "I might not have even gone anywhere."

"Why were you thinking about leaving?" The girl's silence was enough of an answer for Setsuna. "It's about Kazuki, isn't it?" Miu nodded her head, silent confirmation of what her father already knew to be true.

"Would you like to tell me what happened?" he asked gently.

"H-he kissed me," she said quietly. "I couldn't stay there anymore, so I left."

"When did this happen?"

"Last night," she told him. Another tear streamed down her cheek, unnoticed. Despite his personal experiences with a similar situation, Setsuna could think of nothing to say that he thought would help at the moment.

"You're going to take me back, aren't you?" Setsuna looked at his daughter. What she needed most was to clear her mind and come to terms with the way her brother felt about her. Neither would be possible if she were forced back in her current state.

"I'm thinking about it," Setsuna told her. Truthfully, he knew that he needed to find someplace else for her to stay for a while, but couldn't think of anyplace that would work. It would be better for Miu to be worried slightly at the time than to feel betrayed if her father were to promise not to bring her home and not keep his word.

"Please don't take me home," she pleaded, "I can't-" She was openly in tears now, earning them a few odd looks from people across the room. Setsuna put his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to provide comfort.

"I won't force you to come back home unless there are no other options," he told her honestly. "Please don't worry about it."

With his child in a relatively calmer state of mind, Setsuna was left only with the difficult task of thinking of a place for her to stay until she was ready to come back. Unfortunately, his family didn't have many close friends, and even fewer were people Setsuna would trust Miu to in such a time. Whoever would be chosen in the end would probably have to be informed about the family situation, something that was not to be talked about casually.

As Setsuna reached into his jacket pocket, he felt his hand brush up against something. He grabbed it and drew it out. It was a slip of paper with information on it, the one Kira had given him. An idea began to grow in his mind.

* * *

Kazuki was ready to run out the front door in search of his sister when the phone rang and his mother called for him to stay inside. Impatient to get started, he began pacing back and forth in front of the door. From where he was, he could just barely make out what his mother was saying to the person on the other end of the phone.

"You found her? Where was she?" It didn't take much for Kazuki to realize that they were talking about Miu.

"Where was she?" There was a bit of silence as the person Sara was talking to answered the question. "Is she okay?"

An even longer silence followed this question. Kazuki was both excited and apprehensive: his sister had been found, but what if she still wasn't ready to see him. He realized with horror that he wasn't even sure if he was ready to see her yet.

"Are you sure about this?" Sara must have been responding to something said by the other person. Kazuki wondered what had been said.

"If it's what she wants to do, then I have no problem with it," Sara told the other person. "Tell Miu that I love her." A moment later, she emerged from the other room.

"That was your father," she told Kazuki. "He found Miu, and is going to be taking her someplace else to stay for awhile until she feels ready to come back."

Kazuki's heart felt heavy. Miu would not be coming home later that day, or even anytime remotely soon. Not only had he lost his sister, the entire reason that she was gone was because he had driven her away.


	6. Resting Place

Chapter 6: Resting Place

At some point during the trip back to Tokyo, Miu had fallen asleep in the seat next to Setsuna, but it was an uneasy sleep, causing her to toss about every so often. Setsuna hoped that his daughter would be able to find a more peaceful rest eventually. There was no telling how well she had been able to sleep the previous night, when Kazuki's revelation to her was still fresh and foremost in her mind.

_She looks like a woman now,_ Setsuna thought as he watched his sleeping daughter. It was hard to believe, especially in light of the recent turn of events that had left Miu confused and helpless. Then again, how could someone possibly be prepared for something of that nature? Miu and Kazuki were just about the same age as their parents had been when _they _had been forced to come to terms with their feelings.

Looking at his daughter's predicament made Setsuna recall his own childhood, and for the most part they were not happy memories. He had always loved his sister, so although he couldn't tell what it felt like to have to deal with the unwelcome love of a sibling, he knew that both of his children would have to deal with a great deal of stress.

Had Sara ever felt burdened by her feelings for her brother? She had never said anything indicating that she wished for things to be any way other than the way that they were. When Setsuna had tried to abandon his sister in an attempt to make her life better, it was her persistence that had resulted in their eventual reunion. Even so, there must have been _some_ effect that the entire experience had left on her. If there was, it had long since been buried, becoming rooted into everything that Sara was without being noticeable. Would these trials likewise become a part of the children forever, or would the twins be forced apart? Setsuna still couldn't say for sure which situation he would favor for his children.

As they approached their destination, Setsuna began to rouse his daughter. The two of them quietly exited the train and set off into the city. The sun was low in the western sky, almost to the point of disappearing behind the horizon. The air had a slight chill in it, making the prospect of the approaching night an unpleasant thought at best.

"Do they know that we're coming?" Miu asked. She was still not fully awake, and had to lean on her father for support.

"I called ahead," Setsuna replied. "It doesn't necessarily mean that the message was received, though."

"What if we're not welcome?" Miu asked. "I don't want to go home."

"If this doesn't work out, we'll just have to think of something else," he assured her. Privately, Setsuna had his own doubts about how well things would turn out, but he kept them to himself. There was nothing to be gained by increasing his daughter's fears. Still, his own nervousness was overwhelming, and it only continued to increase as he led Miu up to the building indicated on the slip of paper.

Gathering his courage, Setsuna knocked on the door. There was a long pause after his knock, seemingly indicating that the building was vacant. Setsuna wanted to walk away, to leave and seek help elsewhere. There were surely other people to whom he could turn to. But he didn't. He stayed at the door, because as much as he knew that there were other people who could be asked, this was their best chance for help. He would endure whatever personal discomfort was necessary if it was for the good of his daughter.

After what seemed to be an eternity of waiting, there was the click of locks being undone. The door opened, revealing a woman who was well into her sixties, if not older. She did not look at all pleased.

"It's you," she said disdainfully. "What do you want?"

"I left a message…"

"I received it," the woman said sharply, "which is why I've bothered to meet with you. If you have no purpose in visiting here, than I would ask that you please leave."

"Miu needs to stay somewhere for a while, Mother," Setsuna explained. "I'll give you the details later, but for now could we…" The woman didn't wait for him to finish before grabbing Miu's wrist and pulling her inside, leaving Setsuna alone at the door for a split second before he followed them inside. He waited just inside while Miu was led to a spare room and put to bed.

"I seem to recall you promising an explanation," his mother told him when she returned several minutes later.

"Things right now are a bit…difficult," Setsuna explained. "Miu would be uncomfortable at our home right now."

"What, did she finally decide that she doesn't want parents who are their own siblings?"

"It wasn't that," Setsuna replied defensively. "Kazuki, her brother, recently told her that he was attracted to her."

"Ahh, of course," his mother said caustically. "It must be genetic, you see. Before long the Mudou family will be the world-famous line of incestuous siblings. I hope you're proud of your legacy."

"Mother! Can't you see that Miu's extremely distressed about this?"

"So what, you think that you can leave her here for a few weeks and that she'll be fine after that? You've been living in a fantasy too long, Setsuna. Not everybody will embrace the same kind of sinful thinking that you do, even if they're your own children."

"I know that!" he yelled. "I don't expect her to change her mind overnight. I want to leave her here so that I can see whether she'll ever be ready to come back. So that we can go back to having a normal family."

"If you thought that you could have a normal family by marrying your own sister, than you are an even bigger fool than I ever thought."

"What should I do?"

"Excuse me?"

"What should I do?" Setsuna repeated. "I know that we might not ever go back to being normal, but I have to try. What can I do to help my children?"

"You expect me to know?" she asked. "I already tried offering all of the 'help' that I had to you and Sara. I seem to remember that you ignored all of it."

"Not that," Setsuna said. "With Sara. You helped Sara when I tried to push her away. What did you do?"

"I only offered what I could do to help her to deal with it."

"Can you help Miu?"

"Why? So that you can come back and try to convince her that there's nothing wrong with her brother?"

"Will you do it so that she can live the rest of her life? If she doesn't want to come back, I won't ever force her to."

"I'll do what I can for her," she promised. "As for Kazuki, I can offer you no help. You probably know better than me how to deal with him, if you even want to."

"Am I doing the right thing?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"When Kazuki came to me earlier this week and told me how he felt about Miu, I told him that he should try to forget about it," Setsuna confessed. "Was I wrong to advise that he do one thing when I would have done another in his situation…when I _have_ done the opposite in his situation?"

"It is natural for children to learn from their parent's mistakes," his mother replied. "You just refuse to admit that your choice was a mistake."

"I thought about leaving, once I realized what was going on with our children. I thought that Kazuki might have an easier time forgetting about Miu if he weren't constantly reminded of it each time he saw his parents. In the end, I just couldn't do it. I couldn't leave Sara, I couldn't leave my children, and when I got back it turned out that everything had taken a turn for the worse without me."

"It isn't too late for you to do the right thing," she suggested. "You could take Miu away with you, and everybody would be better off."

"That would only be running away from the problem."

"Some problems can't be dealt with!" Mrs. Mudou snapped. "Even if you ever manage to take your daughter home, what then? Things won't stay normal forever, and in the meantime you'll only be pretending that there's nothing wrong."

"I can't do that," Setsuna maintained.

"Then there is nothing more that I have to say to you."

"I'll be leaving, then. Please take care of Miu for me." He turned to leave.

"Do you have to be back at your job tomorrow?" his mother asked.

"Not until Monday," Setsuna replied, "but I should probably be home at a time like this."

"You'll have a hard time getting a train this late," she said. "You might as well stay until morning."

"I wouldn't want to impose on you any further," he answered. "You've already done enough by letting Miu stay here."

"It won't be imposing to stay here a few extra hours. You're probably too tired to travel right now, anyway."

Setsuna hadn't realized it before his mother brought it up, but he was exhausted by the events of the past few hours. Even though it wasn't even that late, it felt as though he had been up for days on end, trying to sort out the mess that his family had become.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to stay until morning," he conceded. As his mother retrieved an extra futon from storage, Setsuna went to the room that had been given to his daughter to check on her. Miu was sleeping gently, with only the slow, even sound of her breathing to disturb the silence of the chamber.


	7. The Siblings Divided

Chapter 7: The Siblings Divided

A dull pain, slowly working its way deeper into his heart. It felt as though Kazuki's heart was being pulled out of his chest, with no way that he could stop the pain.

He had expected it to be tough on him, of course. He recalled a time, many years ago, when he and Miu had gotten into a fight. It was the worst argument they had ever had (the cause of the argument wasn't anything big of course, and the twins had long since forgotten why they had fought in the first place), and even though it had been years, Kazuki still remembered that nothing could hurt him as badly as his sister's anger. He expected to feel much worse now then he had then. Unfortunately, just like how knowing that a bullet will hurt means nothing when the lead pierces your skin, Kazuki's expectation of heartache was practically worthless.

Miu's disappearance turned out to be both a blessing and a curse. There was no disputing it, the two of them needed to be separate from each other for a while. When they had argued such a long time ago, it had ended when one of them (they could never agree on which of them it was afterward) stormed off to some other area of the house. Gradually, they cooled down until they could make things up without shouting at each other. Now they were getting the same kind of opportunity, a chance to think things over before either of them said more things to the other that they might regret saying later on. Unfortunately for Kazuki, the separation was almost unbearable for him.

Come to think of it, the thing he had hated the most back then was the period of time in which they were afraid to run back and make up because they were too scared that they weren't ready yet. It had been such a powerful feeling that from that day on, Kazuki had resolved to make it up to Miu by never giving her a cause to argue with him ever again. If they disagreed on something, he would very carefully consider her point of view before speaking up. He never particularly minded conceding points in a discussion to help the two of them reach a compromise more quickly, and when other people challenged Miu's arguments, Kazuki often found himself defending his twin's point of view, even if he thought differently himself. Sure, the two of them still had little arguments. They frequently teased each other but always seemed to know when the other was at their limit.

_I made the decision to treat my sister with more respect, and I did it too well,_ Kazuki thought. _Now I respect her so much that I've fallen in love with her, and we're back to square one with the fighting and separation._ Except it _wasn't_ square one, it was worse. There was a big difference between a minor fight that escalated out of control and a revelation of this magnitude.

As Kazuki glanced across the room at the empty bed, he thought of how, just a week ago, he would have been glad if Miu's bed was empty when he woke up, because that would mean that he wouldn't risk being tardy just so he could wait for her. Now, he just sat up with a lead heart, wondering if he would ever see the love of his life again…even if it were as a sibling.

* * *

Sunlight streamed through a gap in the drapery, illuminating just a small portion of her face. The face of the same girl that not just Kazuki, but also many other boys of their age (and a few who weren't the same age) from the school thought was the most beautiful they had ever laid eyes upon. If she had ever expressed interest in such things, Miu could have had her pick from just about any boy in the school. But alas, Miu had never shown much of a desire to start dating. For that matter, she wasn't particularly social when compared to most of the class. She was courteous and friendly to everybody, but with the exception of Kazuki, a few of her girlfriends, and occasionally Naoto, she didn't have anybody with whom she consistently conversed. This gave her the reputation of being off-limits for romance: even though she did not have a boyfriend as far as anybody in the class knew, Miu's manner of socializing with people caused everybody to reach the conclusion that she simply had no desire for such a relationship.

As a result, Miu Mudou had no experience with people confessing to her past a few timid boys who got embarrassed and ran away with red faces after stammering a few unintelligible syllables. She expected that sooner or later someone would probably ask her out, and so she had occasionally debated to herself whether she should turn down such an offer or accept it. Needless to say, she was utterly unprepared when the first offer came from her own brother.

Now, that beautiful face lay in the partial sunlight, wondering where she was. It went without saying that she wasn't lying in her room at home. She distinctly remembered running away from home the day before. She wasn't at any of her friends' houses that she could recognize. Now Miu sat up and began to worry. The grogginess left her and her memory of the past day or so came rushing back to her. It wasn't just momentary confusion over waking up in a different place than she was accustomed to: Miu actually had no idea where she was.

That's right, her father had told her that he was bringing her to a place where she could stay. He would probably be around somewhere. Miu knew that she should go look for him, but lacked the will to get up and start searching. After all, when she was awake she was constantly fretting about what to do. Sleeping seemed like a much more appealing choice.

"Are you awake, Miu?"

Almost immediately after she had made her decision to return to bed, she found her option taken away from her. After a brief pause, the door to the room opened, and an aged woman entered the room.

"I hope that you've had a pleasant rest," the woman said kindly.

"Is my father here?" Although she had been prepared to sleep with the knowledge that one of her parents was nearby, she now felt a slight anxiety about the fact that they might not be there at all. She thought that the woman looked vaguely familiar, but Miu could recall nothing beyond that.

"Setsuna already left," the woman replied. "He requested that I take care of you until he is able to arrange otherwise."

"Did he say when that would be?" Miu asked hopefully. She was not looking forward to returning home, but her father was a comforting presence for her.

"He did not."

"Is there anything you need of me…" Miu tried to think of the woman's name, but couldn't. The woman looked down at Miu and spoke quietly.

"Your father informed me of the circumstances preceding your departure from his home. You are welcome to stay here until you feel comfortable moving elsewhere."

"You know…"

"I know that you are here because you are uneasy with the relationship between you and your brother, particularly because of the way he feels about you."

Miu was shocked that her father would so casually reveal something like that. Such matters we're really the kind of thing you confide in to any more people than absolutely necessary. This woman must really have had Setsuna's trust if she was not only placed in charge of caring for his daughter, but was also entrusted with the truth regarding the situation.

No, that wasn't necessarily true. Setsuna Mudou was quite possibly the most honest person Miu had ever known. He never lied, never tricked people into doing things, always played fair… it made Miu uncomfortable to think that Setsuna might be unwilling to conceal anything, especially if he was willing to reveal something like this to a woman who he probably wasn't particularly close to, given the fact that Miu couldn't ever recall meeting this person before. But then again, there was that one thing, the thing that Miu had realized only a few years back… maybe the reason her father seemed to be such an honest person was because he was just that good at concealing things.

"Wh-What would you suggest I do?"

"Just stay here for now, dear, and I'll bring you something to eat." The woman left into the other room, leaving Miu alone once again. Almost immediately she flopped back down into her bedding. What was done was done, and there was really no reason for Miu to worry any more about what reasons her father may or may not have had for revealing things that should have remained secret. Unfortunately, her focus now shifted from the problem of keeping things secret to the problem itself: what should she do? She didn't want to leave home forever. Her parents, her friends… she had even begun to miss Kazuki, and he was the root of the problem. At the same time, going back was out of the question for the time being. How long could she stay here without going mad from loneliness?

A short while later, Miu was spared from working out her agonizing problems when the woman returned with a tray of food for her.

"Thank you, um…" Once more Miu realized that she still didn't know the woman's name. Luckily, the woman seemed to sense the reason for Miu's pause, and almost immediately provided an answer.

"You can just call me Grandmother."


End file.
